Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 568 - 326: Taking It Seriously, Setting Out Early

"Fishing King Cup Preliminaries?"

Upon hearing these six words, Zhang Yang's initially lazy nerves instantly tensed up.

Why would Zhang Yang have this reaction? It's simple. The Guangwei Fishing King Cup is the top event for freshwater anglers across the country, unparalleled in its prestige.

Winning a Third-level Competitive Fishing Master title might not earn you much admiration, but if you win the Fishing King Cup title, wherever you go, you'll be among the highly esteemed few.

There used to be a saying in the fishing community: win the Fishing King title, and you'll be set for life.

What does this mean? It's not that the prize money is exorbitant; rather, the influence in the industry is overwhelmingly strong.

If you win the Fishing King, whether you establish your own fishing gear brand or become a spokesperson for another fishing gear company, the choices are plenty. Signing a spokesperson deal could easily earn you tens of thousands per year.

With so much said, why then does the Guangwei Fishing King Cup have such a widespread influence in the circle? What's the reason?

The primary reason is that the competition rules are extremely stringent, and the requirements for anglers are exceptionally high.

It's safe to say that winning the Fishing King Cup involves no element of luck; the stakes are incredibly high.

Some might wonder just how stringent these competition rules are.

Just one rule sets the Fishing King Cup completely apart from other fishing competitions.

From the preliminaries onward, everyone registering to compete can only sign up for the division where their ID is registered. If you fail to qualify in the preliminaries, well, you'll have to wait another two years for the next round.

Unlike other competitions where if you don't make it in one division, you can try your luck in another, such operations are not feasible in the Fishing King Cup.

In a large-scale fishing competition with hundreds of participants, luck and skill are both absolutely necessary to qualify for the final round.

"Yes! The Guangwei Fishing King Cup preliminaries! They start next Tuesday, and the registration just opened! I've already submitted the list of our company's anglers!" continued President Zhao on the phone.

"Where's the competition being held this year?" Zhang Yang continued to ask.

"Antai City, Jiulong Mountain Villa! I've also booked the hotel, and you'll have all the logistical support you need," said President Zhao.

"Perfect, the competition starts next Tuesday. We've got a few days left. I'll gather the team and start preparing right away!" Zhang Yang said repeatedly. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

President Zhao nodded: "Yes, take our young ones along too, let them see what a top-level event truly looks like!

If luck is on our side and we qualify this time, perhaps at next year's final, we could snag a Fishing King title. That would certainly boost our company's performance several times over!"

"I'm hanging up now; I need to call a meeting!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yang shouted to Liu Zi and Xiaobao: "Liu Zi, Xiaobao, pack up. Liu Zi, call Fan and the others. Everyone gather at the usual spot, be there in half an hour!"

"What's up, boss? Is there another competition?"

When Zhang Yang was on the phone earlier, he didn't avoid Liu Zi and the others, so they heard everything he said.

"Yes, a competition, the Guangwei Fishing King Cup preliminaries! This year's venue is at Jiulong Mountain Villa in Antai City!

President Zhao has already registered you guys. This is a top-level event held only once every two years! It's not to be missed!"

"Got it! I'll start making calls right away!"

Liu Zi responded, put down his rod, took out his phone, and began calling the team members one by one.

Seeing this, Xiaobao looked up at Zhang Yang: "Boss, what about me? Should I keep practicing, or join the meeting?"

Zhang Yang said, "Put the practice aside for now. There's plenty of time to practice with rods later. First, get all the details of the Fishing King Cup understood!"

"Oh! Did President Zhao also sign me up? I don't really mind competing or not; I just want to follow the team to gain some experience, even if it's just running errands or doing odd jobs," Xiaobao continued to ask opportunistically.

"Uh, I didn't actually ask if you were registered! I'll send President Zhao a message and let him know. If not, I'll get you registered!

The registration fee is two hundred bucks, but the value of the freebies far exceeds the fee, so you won't lose out!"

Quickly, Liu Zi called each of the other team members, and everyone gathered at the usual spot diagonally opposite the company on a street in a casual restaurant.

This restaurant, called "Six Dishes and One Soup," isn't very large but the food is quite good. It's the default place for Zhang Yang's team when they have team-building events. Everyone knows the "usual spot" referred to here.

Zhang Yang, along with Liu Zi and Xiaobao, got into their van and were the first wave to arrive at the small restaurant.

Soon, Meng Fan, Wang Yan, and others arrived one after another. From the looks of it, these guys took the notification very seriously; they didn't even have time to change out of their sun-proof clothing from their livestreams before coming.

In less than half an hour, all of Zhang Yang's team of anglers had gathered, and they chose a private room and shut the door.

"About the Fishing King Cup preliminaries, President Zhao has posted it in the WeChat group. Everyone saw it, right?

You've all been registered, and unless there's a special situation, everyone must participate!" Zhang Yang asked earnestly.

"Saw it, we can't miss this competition. It's held every two years. If luck is on our side and we win all eight matches to claim a Fishing King title, that would be awesome!"

Wang Yan flipped his hair back, looking extremely excited.

"Get real, Wang Yan, if you can win a Fishing King title, I'll take your surname! Going to experience and broaden horizons is fine, though!" Zhou Chu poured cold water on him without hesitation.

"Pfft, all I need is a bit of luck! I feel like I have a chance!" Wang Yan said with a strange sense of confidence.

Zhang Yang glanced at everyone: "Alright, stop arguing! I don't need to emphasize the importance of the Fishing King Cup preliminaries. It's held every two years, with eight matches, and the rules are clearly detailed in the program.

I just want to say, starting today, all normal livestreaming and filming plans are put on hold. We begin the competition preparations this afternoon. Get all the line sets, materials, baits, etc., fully prepared!

Tomorrow morning, we're heading directly to Antai City. Let's figure out the venue as soon as we can!"

"Leaving tomorrow? Didn't the program say it starts officially next Tuesday?

Today is Thursday, and we still have Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday—four days to go. Isn't it a bit early?" Han Qiang also chipped in to ask.

Zhang Yang shook his head: "We must go early! The sooner, the better! Once all the anglers arrive, they'll close the fishing pools."

This is definitely based on experience: the bigger the competition, the earlier you should check out the venue.

The Fishing King Cup prohibits pre-competition practice. The pools are usually closed 48 hours before the start of the competition. Right now, there are still four or five days until next Tuesday. With some luck, we might just avoid the no-practice period.

Normal players can't practice during this time, so arriving a few days earlier might give us a chance to check out the fish situation.

This slight edge has already given Zhang Yang's team a significant advantage.